About the Proximity Project
These last 18 months have been historic to say the least as people across Baltimore, the nation, and the world, have been actively speaking out, protesting, and fighting for long-overdue social justice reforms.
The Peale, Baltimore’s home for stories and the nation’s oldest purpose-built museum, is gathering stories about people’s experiences with the fight for equity and social justice around Baltimore. The Peale encourages people of all ages to share their experiences for the “Proximity Project,” a collection of location-based stories about civil rights and social justice that will become part of a self-guided Baltimore walking tour, accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. The “Proximity Project” creates a unique, immersive, on-demand exhibition of this historical moment for cultural tourists and locals who visit city locations where the demonstrations have happened. Scott Patterson, the acclaimed musician and composer from Balitmore’s Afro House, will produce an original musical score for these stories. Participants’ narratives will also be shared on the Peale’s website and SoundCloud Channel.
The goal of the project (and of the Peale’s storytelling efforts) is to amplify the voices of people in the real Baltimore, not necessarily the narrative that has been crafted by the media and the entertainment industry. All stories will also be included in the Peale’s Baltimore story archive to be preserved for future generations and to help people everywhere “see Baltimore in a new light.”
Four ways to share your story
- Call our story hotline at 1-833-TEL-STRY
- Record a video testimonial.
- Record an audio story on our website.
- Email us to set up an interview with our storytelling ambassador: social@thePealeCenter.org
*Storytellers may remain anonymous, but if you’d like for us to contact you or tag you on social media, please include your email address with your story. We do not share personal information with third-party, commercial entities. Storytellers retain the copyright to their stories.
This Project has been possible through a grant from the Baltimore National Heritage Area.